The northeast portion of the state, Hudson and Bergen counties in particular, are proving the most difficult to bring back on line, La Rossa said, chiefly because power lines there run through backyards and are tough to get to.

In contrast with La Rossa’s prediction of full restoration by Friday, the posted plan indicates that thousands of PSE&G customers in Union and Somerset counties will still be out.

That’s because this morning’s plan doesn’t reflect work the company anticipates to be completed by additional crews that are arriving daily in New Jersey from elsewhere. For example, he said, 120 linemen arrived in the state from West Virginia yesterday. Others are en route, some from as far away as California. As they arrive the plan will be reworked to include their efforts.

Moreover, La Rossa said, the first three days of the plan are the most reliable. The company initially posted only three-day plans, but yielded to pressure from the governor’s office to post longer-range estimates of the work effort.

La Rossa said he stands by the Friday prediction, but that could change if the predicted nor’easter, expected to hit the area on Wednesday, takes a further toll on the infrastructure.

“Help us by keeping that storm in your thoughts and prayers,” La Rossa said.
For safety reasons, he said, the company won’t put line workers up in buckets in rain and wind stiffer than 40 mph, so the storm could delay those efforts.

The storm could also undo some of the temporary restoration in some areas, he said. If the coming storm knocks out a single line of restored equipment where redundant systems typically exist, an area that is now energized may lose power again. “Many temporary repairs will be challenged by the high winds,” he said. And trees that are simply dangling now may be thrown onto power lines by the next storm.

The company won’t know how the storm will impact the restoration process, he said, “until a couple hours before it hits on Wednesday.

Regarding the minor earthquake that hit North Jersey this morning, La Rossa said, “When it rains, it certainly does pour.” At this time, however, the earthquake appears to have had little or no impact on the restoration process and has not led to further outages, he said.